A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection
When Noel's mother has a stroke, his world is turned upside down.
Especially when a man comes, who tells Noel that he can't stay in the
only home he's ever known. He has to move from his apartment and his
city to some kind of care facility, in a town he's never heard of. For
the first time, Noel is on his own. Who can he trust? Who can he love?
There is a village in Germany called Neuerkerode that is largely
populated and run by people with developmental disabilities -- the local
restaurant, the local bar, the local supermarket. It's a beautiful, even
incredible place -- and it's where The Thud takes place. In 2016,
cartoonist Mikael Ross began visiting Neuerkerode. Over the course of
two years, Ross learned about the people who live there and listened to
their stories. As Neuerkerode Protestant Foundation Director Rüdiger
Becker has stated, Out of this has arisen a powerful piece of
literature that depicts, with a rarely seen intensity and authenticity,
the lives of people with intellectual disabilities.
Told from Noel's perspective with humor and empathy, The Thud offers a
rare window into the life of a boy living with developmental
disabilities. In doing so, Ross has crafted an enchanting story that
helps us understand the often misunderstood.